Vladimir Putin has totally demolished one of his main palaces amid claims he is now scared to spend time at his favourite Black Sea boltholes that sit within range of Ukraine’s kamikaze drones.
The Russian President, who turns 72 today, is ‘truly afraid’ of being killed by an unmanned projectile piloted by Kyiv, a new investigation by independent media outlet Proekt has claimed.
In recent years Putin has frequently visited Stalin-designed Bocharov Ruchey palace overlooking the Black Sea in Sochi.
He also boasts a £1 billion private clifftop retreat to the northwest in Gelendzhik, often likened to the lair of a James Bond villain thanks to its entertainment-packed upper stories concealing a network of tunnels and bunkers below ground.
These lavish homes were seen as his ‘love nests’, with independent media speculating that the Russian President embarked on getaways with his secret partner, former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 41, and their two young children.
But it has emerged that the Bocharov Ruchey palace was suddenly bulldozed, with fresh satellite pictures obtained by Proekt showing the site has been reduced to an earth pit.
The Bocharov Ruchey palace was reportedly suddenly bulldozed
Satellite pictures showed the empty plot of land where the Bocharov Ruchey palace once stood
Putin’s Bocharov Ruchey state residence as seen on February 6, 2014 in Sochi, Russia
Putin reportedly spent time at his Black Sea palaces with his secret partner, former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 41, and their two young children
The Russian President, who turns 72 today, is ‘truly afraid’ of being killed by an unmanned projectile piloted by Kyiv, a new investigation by independent media outlet Proekt has claimed
The report claimed that Putin has shunned Sochi and the Krasnodar region since last year, when Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory began in earnest.
Ukrainian aerial attacks have hit various targets in both the Sochi and Gelendzhik areas, prompting the Russian President to forego his usual trips to the regions despite evidence his palaces are guarded with sophisticated air defence systems.
Bocharov Ruchey is said to have been flattened in February and March of this year.
The Proekt report stated: ‘The [Bocharov Ruchey] building was demolished to the ground. A lot of questions remain.
‘First of all, why did a luxurious residence need to be demolished given it had been renovated 10 years ago?
‘The answer is, probably, obvious… Because of drone attacks, the president is afraid of being on the Black Sea coast of Krasnodar region.’
Vladimir Putin received UK Prime Minister David Cameron at Sochi’s Bocharov Ruchey residence in May 2013
Ukrainian drones were shot down close to Bocharov Ruchey late last year
Alexander Lukashenko arrives to see Vladimir Putin in September 2022 at – reportedly – Bocharov Ruchey residence in Sochi, Russia
The report added: ‘In 2023, Putin felt a threat to his physical safety and got scared. A Putin acquaintance confirmed to Proekt that the president is truly afraid to fly south.’
In 2013, Putin used Bocharov Ruchey to host then-UK premier David Cameron for talks.
One theory is that Putin has demolished the place and is using the war as an excuse to build a new and more luxurious palace at the site of a building completed by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
A new development could have superior bunker facilities for the Russian leader whose paranoia over potential attempts on his life has grown significantly since the invasion of Ukraine.
Proekt underscored that the Russian people have not been informed about the demolishing of Bocharov Ruchey, given the residences linked to Putin are located in protected areas.
As Russian President, Putin has endeavoured to project an image of frugality throughout his more than two decades in power.
But while he has free-rein of the grand halls of the Moscow Kremlin and other state-owned luxuries, the Russian public are told little of his vast private wealth.
Over the years, details of Putin’s reported property empire have grown thanks to investigations into his highly secretive family life and personal affairs.
Some Russian and Western sources even say Putin, 71, is the richest billionaire in the world thanks to his alleged stakes in the fortunes of his oligarch cronies.
His wealth came under the spotlight again in the build up to Russia’s presidential election.
It emerged earlier this year that the President failed to include most of his lavish properties and luxury yachts on his official wealth declaration before standing for six more years as Russia’s despotic president.
MailOnline also reported on a new video that has emerged claiming to show Putin’s secret northern hideout – just 18 miles from Russia’s border with NATO.
This is not the first secret property linked to Putin that has come to light.
Including his pension from his years as a KGB spy and salary as Russian president, he claimed in the declaration to have earned £593,537 in the past six years.
He had £477,989 in bank accounts, according to his return.
Pictured: A vast luxury £1 billion ‘palace’, said to be owned by Putin, which includes a pole-dancing hookah boudoir, casino, and ‘aqua disco’, according to a 2021 investigation
Alexi Navalny’s team were able to create 3D images of the interiors based on the floor plans, which included this reading room
Vladimir Putin’s alleged palace in Valdai, Russia, where a report says he spends time with his secret family, including his secret partner and famous gymnast Alina Kabaeva
The Russian dictator is claimed to have created a secretive ‘tsar’s village’ of properties for his daughters and ex-wife in a plush Moscow district
This is still well-off by Russian standards, where the average annual salary is estimated to be around 1.2 million rubles, a little under £11,000.
Putin also declared a 1,654 sq ft flat in Moscow and another at 829 sq ft in St Petersburg, as well as two Soviet-era vehicles and a 2009 Niva vehicle, a Lada off-roader, and a Skif trailer dating from communist times in 1987.
As president, he has numerous official homes which come with the job.
These include the priceless Kremlin in central Moscow, Novo-Ogaryevo residence outside the city – as well as the Bocharov Ruchey.
Another favourite retreat for Putin in Konstantinovsky Palace in his native St Petersburg, where he hosts visiting dignitaries.
Yet Russian investigative journalists have over the years also uncovered a large portfolio of palaces and yachts said to be owned by the strongman that are hidden from the ordinary Russian people, and are certainly not disclosed publicly.
Complex ownership webs are alleged to lead to Putin.
Often the construction involves his oligarch pals whose Reds-to-Riches fortunes went stratospheric under his repressive rule.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
